Only In Dreams
by bleach.and.ink
Summary: Series of vignettes based on Spike's quote from Season 6. I want you to know I did save you. Not when it counted, of course. But after that. Every night after that. I'd see it all again, do something different. Please R&R WIP
1. Night 35

This is a series of vignettes, based around the dead time, between S5 and S6; post Buffy's death.

They're based on Spike's line from S6 "After Life":

"But I want you to know I did save you. Not when it counted, of course, but ... after that. Every night after that. I'd see it all again ... do something different. Faster or more clever, you know? Dozens of times, lots of different ways ... Every night I save you."

Spike talks in Season 6 "After Life" about Buffy being gone for 147 days, don't worry, I won't come up with that many different dreams, I don't think I could…

Disclaimer: don't own any of them wish I did, just like to toy with them in my own, weird ways.

Night Number 35

Spike climbed higher. He looked above him. The poorly constructed tower of steel creaked as he ran up the steps. He could see Doc's knife gleaming in the moonlight as the short, inhuman figure approached Dawn. Spike stopped to catch an unneeded breath and started running again. The steps never seemed to end; they just kept running up and up and up. Finally Spike reached the top of the tower. It was swaying with the wind. Buffy was fighting the small, lizard like man, Dawn's blood was dripping from her abdomen and wrists, tears ran down her cheeks. The portal was opening, evil trying to escape from the gargantuan tears beginning to form in their universe. Spike swung his fist and easily knocked Doc off the tower. Buffy smiled at him, and kissed him. Spike grabbed Buffy and bit into her neck. She understood what he was doing and held still as he pulled her closer and closer, attempting to get just enough blood, but still leaving her enough to get off of the faulty tower. Ripping himself away, still in game mask, he gently pushed both Dawn and Buffy towards the perilous stairs. He looked Buffy in the eyes one last time, whispered softly to her and took a running leap off the platform.


	2. Night 107

Night Number 107

"Ben is Glory, Glory is Ben. Hello? Don't you all remember seeing that?" Spike shook his head in frustration as he looked at the crowd around him. Buffy looked at him, then at Willow and Xander.

"So Ben disappeared and then Glory appeared. How'd that happen?" Xander thought aloud.

"No, Ben is Glory. Ben turned into Glory."

"Um, Spike, Ben's gone. Ben couldn't be Glory." Buffy looked at Spike, astonished that he'd say such a thing.

"Bugger." Spike mumbled as he walked out the door of the abandoned gas station. He had to put an end to this. Ben was Glory, Glory was Ben. He saw it, how could the others not realize this as well? Spike pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it and took a long drag. He had to kill Ben.

"Spike, what's going on? Why are you dragging me to the hospital?" Buffy tried to slip out of the vampire's steady grip as he pulled her by her arm into the Sunnydale hospital.

"I need to find Ben." Spike growled.

"Why? Are you jealous because we tried to have a thing? Because, we, Ben and I, we didn't have a thing."

"No, and if I try to explain it to you again, you'll just continue to look at me like I turned magically into the bloody bitch-god herself." Spike looked around the empty hallway and punched Buffy square across the face.

"What the hell Spike?!" Buffy held her face in her hand as a bruise started to form. "I told you, Ben and I didn't ever go out."

"No, I just want to find him. I don't care if you did – wait, you thought about going out with him?"

"Once, okay, maybe twice, but we didn't actually do anything." Buffy said, gingerly rubbing the side of her face.

"I forgot, if they can go in the sun, they have to be the white-bread types." Spike mumbled to himself.

"Now what's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means."

"No I don't. And you punched me for no reason." Buffy swung at Spike and hit him square in the nose.

"Bloody hell slayer. What was that for?"

"Saying I like white-bread types and punching me."

"What's a white-bread type?" Ben stepped out from behind the lounge door that Buffy and Spike had conveniently stopped to fight in front of.

"Oh, nothing. Spike just likes to make fun of me." Buffy smiled coyly at Ben.

"That's quite a bruise Buffy. Do you want some ice or something for it?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm a quick healer. Really."

"I want to talk to Ben here, so Buffy, if you could grab us something from the cafeteria."

"Why don't we all go?" Ben smiled back at Buffy. He was a little slow on the pick up, but apparently he eventually caught on.

"Because I want to talk to you about some…personal matters." Spike hinted with his eyes that they were of a sexual sort.

"Oh, um, okay. There's no one in the lounge, we can talk there."

"Aw, Spike's not only neutered he can't get it up either?" Buffy teased playfully as she walked down the hall. Ben led Spike into the employee lounge. Spike quickly looked at Ben.

"I hope this doesn't hurt." Spike whispered to himself and grabbed Ben around the neck.

"Wh-" Ben stared at Spike as Spike made the effort to choke the life out of the medical intern. Spike realized the chip wasn't reacting, which meant Ben wasn't really human. His observation back at the encounter with the knights and Glory taking Dawn was right. Ben must be Glory. Spike watched as the life began to drain out of Ben, it was a sad sight. He'd actually liked the guy.

"Sorry mate. Nothing personal. Just, well, you're somehow attached to a hell-god and she's been a bitch about going home. So instead, she's just getting a quick end." Spike laid Ben's body out on a bench in the room. He watched in horror as the body shifted from Ben to Glory, but was as still as Spike's heart. Buffy came back with three coffees in hand and dropped them as she entered the lounge.

"Wha-ho-did-where-huh?" Buffy stuttered as she walked over to where Glory lay in Ben's scrubs.

"Ben is Glory. Glory is Ben. I've only said it a million times."


	3. Night 57

Night Number 57

Glory had him suspended in her living room. He wouldn't tell her anything, he swore that Dawn's secret would stay that, a secret. His eye swollen and bruised a deep shade of purple. His shirt was ripped into tiny pieces, some of which were sticking to wounds, in which the blood was already beginning to dry. The god screamed at him but he didn't pay any attention to what she was saying. He kept imagining Buffy, and keeping her from the terror she'd encounter with this slutty, tasteless, hell-god. He managed to tear the chains which held him from the wall and swing his arms clumsily at Glory. Her red dress became covered in black oil from the chains.

"Stupid vampire! That stain is never going to come out!" She grew enraged and flung her hands at him. He blocked her shots and kicked her in the stomach, only to be knocked back by some unknown force. He attempted to kick her again, this time making contact and sending her sprawling out on the floor. "You are soo gonna pay." She jumped up and kicked off her high-heeled shoes.

"C'mon then, you call yourself a god? Let's dance." He circled around her, watching her with his one good eye. "No powers, just brute strength."

"Ahh, that's not fair but ok, you can't beat me. I'm a god." She whined and lashed out her fists in a rapid frenzy at him. He managed to block most of the hits; a few took him by surprise at the speed in her attack. He flung a fist at her head; it made contact with a sickening crack. Her head rolled lopsided but pulled back up onto her neck.

"That hurt." She said, straightening her head out with her hands. "You're not a bad fighter, but you still know where my key is, so until I find out from you, I'll be glad to pummel you." She sent him to the floor with a swift kick to his jaw. Spike felt it pop out of place but he couldn't give up. "Your friends are coming, but by the time they get here, you'll be just another pile of dust in my minion's vacuum cleaner." She walked over a table which held her implements of torture. She picked up a nice pointy stake with one hand and a sword with the other. "So which way do you want to die? Beheading or staking? I'm partial to beheading myself, that's how all the creatures in my dimension were punished." Spike took the distraction to pick up a weapon of his own. "Great, a dagger? Oh sheesh, I'm really scared." The blonde swung at him with the sword, slicing the front of his shirt into even more tattered shreds. Spike stepped back from the blow and lunged at her. He pulled on her hair, and clawed at her skin with one hand while he jammed the dagger up under her ribcage. "You-you don't fight fair. Damn it, that really hurt." Spike watched as Glory stared at the knife handle that was sticking out from the middle of her red dress. At that instant, Buffy, Willow and Xander burst through the door, they watched as Spike dropped a clump of hair to the ground, and collapse himself. He smiled at Buffy.

"I saved you." He mouthed as they all watched Glory crumple to the ground in a heap. A black shadow escaped from her mouth, letting out a high pitched screech as it floated up into the air and dissipated. Buffy ran to Spike's side.

"How?"

"Dagger, meant to kill any evil. Did it for you." And with that he fainted into her arms.


	4. Night 140

Night Number 140

Spike planted a fury of kisses all over Buffy's face. She returned those kisses with just as intense a passion as he was displaying. She pulled back and looked at him.

"I have to do this. You know I have to fight her. It's always me, alone in the end." Spike put a finger up to her mouth.

"No, you're not alone this time, I'm here, with you luv. I won't leave your side. No matter how much you toy with my mind. You're not alone this time pet. Can't get rid of this Big Bad." Spike grinned as he pulled her closer to him. He kissed her gently, letting his tongue explore her mouth, tasting every last bit of her. He pulled away from her mouth and began placing little kisses all down her neck, shifting into game face over Angel's marks. He slowly slid his fangs into her skin, being careful not to rip the skin anymore than needed. She groaned against him and tried pushing him away but she couldn't manage, he was holding her too tight. Dawn was up on the tower with the short, lizard-like man who was bound and determined to bring hell to this earth. Spike laid the weakened Slayer on the ground, kissed her mouth one last time and began his climb up the stairs. The sister's had shared their blood, he noticed when both girls had their hands bandaged, and it was a bonding thing he figured. That meant not having to drink from Dawn, and still be able to save the world. He looked longingly down at the blonde who was beginning to regain her strength, as friends came and surrounded her. The dead god lay sprawled in an odd position a few hundred feet from the Scoobies. She had been taken care of. Spike looked up as the tower seemed to be endless. Doc had already cut into Dawn, he could tell from the splashes of light that danced upon the sky and then tore it open like a ruthless animal. _Like me._ Spike watched hell demons begin to appear from the tears in the dimensions, and tears began to form in his eyes. He would do this, because of her, because he loved her, and something in him kept saying he was soft for doing this, but it was like he had said when Angel had attempted an apocalypse, why ruin a world that's got a billion 'Happy Meals' on legs running around? But it wasn't like that anymore; at least he wasn't doing it for the same reasons. He would die if she had to live in a hell dimension, over one hundred years as a vampire had taught him enough about hell, and he'd be even more damned to know that she'd be put through that. The stairs ended abruptly in front of him as he took a deep, unneeded breath and walked out onto the shaky platform hundreds of feet in the air. Dawn's eyes were full of tears but seemed to lighten a little when she saw him. She thought she would have to die but she knew it was not in vain. He would save her, comfort her a little and then jump off of the platform into the giant hole. But she did not know this, and watched in horror as Doc swung his tail around and knocked Spike upside his head.

"Damnit that hurt." Spike looked at the little man and swung his fist at him. Doc jumped back and lashed out at him with his tongue. Spike dodged that hit but was struck with a piece of metal from the collapsing structure. After recovering from the blow he picked up the pipe and waved it around in front of him. "Ready for a fight there Doc?"

"Stupid vampire, it's too late, you'll have to kill her to shut the opening. Why bother risking your own hide? You'll enjoy this mix of universes anyways. Evil rules." Doc's eyes gave Spike a horridly evil stare, tempting the vampire to release his rage. Spike kept his calm and connected his heavily booted foot with Doc's head. "Fine, have it your way." Doc lashed out again with his tongue and Spike stuck the pole out in front of him. The green tongue wrapped around the pole and Spike swung the pole around, pulling Doc off balance and he sent him hurtling over the side of the tower. Dawn smiled at Spike.

"Thank you Spike, thank you, thank you." She coughed out as tears streamed down her face. "You're crying, is it because you have to kill me?" She waited for a response from him. The hole in their universe was growing and she seemed to be getting impatient with him. "Spike, please, just do it, they know I love them, they know it has to be done, please don't let this go on." Dawn looked at him with her Summers' eyes pleading with him to say something.

"Lil' Bit, nothing personal, but I'm not gonna kill you. I'm going to untie you, and you are gonna walk, no run, down those stairs, understand me?" Spike felt his own tears running down his face, god she reminded him of her sister so much.

"But Spike-"

"No buts, just go. Now!" He flashed his game face at her and watched her hurry towards the stairs. Suddenly she turned around, wanting to know what he was about to do. She watched as he walked up towards the platform, took off his duster, lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply and jumped off the platform.

"SPIKE!!!" Dawn ran over to the end of the platform as she watched him fall into the light, it grew brighter and then dissolved into the air. She heard his body hit the ground with a sickening thud, and hurtled herself down the stairs as fast as she could, his duster in hand.


End file.
